Badgemore Park Raising Awareness of Depression With Commemorative Sculpture
Badgemore Park are attempting to unpack the stigma around mental health with the installation of a new bronze sculpture, entitled ‘It’s good to talk’. In the wake of Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May), Badgemore hosted the 21st Charlie Waller Charity Golf Day on Wednesday 22nd, upon which the new instillation was unveiled. The sculpture celebrates Badgemore’s two decades of support for the Trust, which aims to raising awareness of depression.
Badgemore Park and its owners, the Connell family, have supported the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust since 1998. The Trust was founded in memory of Charlie Waller, who took his own life at just 28 years old after suffering from depression. Since his death in 1997, Charlie’s family and friends have endeavoured to further the conversation around depression by setting up the Trust. It aims to increase awareness of the illness and its dangers, to empower young people to recognise symptoms and seek treatment, and to break the stigma around mental health.
Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year, whilst 1 in 6 in England report dealing common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week. Though the discussion around mental health has reached the mainstream in recent years, thanks in part to public figures such as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it vital that organisations like the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust continue to speak about it and offer support. Charlie’s father and Trust Chairman, Sir Mark Waller stated, “When our son died, young people were simply not talking either to each other, or going off to get help – it was stiff upper lip, and I think over the last 20 odd years, things have changed and it’s very important that they remain changed, i.e. that young people talk both to adults and talk to each other, keep an eye on each other, talk to the family, and that’s why the message is very important.”
The Charlie Waller Charity Golf Day and Lunch began with Sir Mark and Lady Waller revealing the statue, which depicts three figures in conversation. The sculpture was created by local artist Laura Jane Wylder and her husband Sebastian, and privately commissioned by Sir Mark and Lady Waller and the Connell family. Originally conceptualised 12 months ago, the piece was intended to mark Badgemore’s 20 year anniversary of supporting the Trust. It follows on from the dedicated memorial bench gifted to Badgemore by the Wallers after 10 years. Both Jon Connell, Managing Director of Badgemore, and the Wallers were keen to create a more meaningful feature for this occasion. “The bench out on the golf course is absolutely great,” stated Jon, “but people might wander past the bench. Here, it’s right by where everybody walks up, it’s telling people about the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, and hopefully more people because it’s here permanently will go on and look up the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust and benefit from it.”
From a shortlist of three local artists, sculptor Laura Jane Wylder and her husband and business partner Sebastian were chosen for the project based on their initial sketch and its clear symbolism. Laura said, “Sebastian and I are incredibly honoured to have been chosen to create such an important piece of work. Problems with mental health is something that I’m sure has touched every one of us either directly or indirectly at some point in our lives and Seb and I are not excluded from this. We aimed to create something beautiful to complement and enhance the already stunning grounds of Badgemore Park but which also has a clear story and message. I’m very pleased that by working on the initial design with both Badgemore and the CWMT, this has been achieved and the sculpture is already fulfilling its intention by highlighting the importance of talking openly without stigma about mental health and raising awareness of this incredible charity.”
The sculpture now stands proudly in situ opposite the opposite the Pro Shop, surrounded by a small gravel garden. Already, it has made an impression on the members; Jon reveals, “We’ve sent an email out to both the golf and gym membership, and we’ve had several emails back from people who’ve had kids or issues themselves saying what a wonderful idea it is and great to get the word out there, including one member who’s a doctor and I think is in the field. Spreading the word as much as we possibly can is so important and we want to do our bit for that.”
Depression is thought to affect 300 million people worldwide, with an estimated 10% of people in the UK experiencing it in their lifetime. To learn more about how to spot the symptoms, visit the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust website. If you are urgently worried about someone you know or are seeking help yourself, you can find more advice here.
